Indian airline Kingfisher 'offered help'

New Delhi — India's debt-crippled Kingfisher Airlines has received offers of funds from two Indian investors to help tide it over its cash crunch, the company's chief was quoted on Saturday as saying.
Kingfisher chairman and brewing magnate Vijay Mallya said the carrier was examining the offers, according to the Economic Times, a leading Indian financial daily.
The chosen investor would pick up a 24 percent stake in the Bangalore-based carrier if a deal was reached, Mallya said, declining to identify the candidates.
"They are large investors, and I would leave it there," he said.
The company owes suppliers, lenders and staff millions of dollars but Mallya said no agreement had yet been reached with the airline's existing bank lenders on its requests for more funds.
Kingfisher has scrapped scores of flights with only 28 of its fleet of 64 aircraft in operation. Many of its planes have been reclaimed by lessors or are awaiting spare parts.
The airline, India's second-largest until earlier this year when its cash woes deepened, has blamed its latest problems on officials freezing its bank accounts for not paying tax arrears.
The company's net loss widened sharply to 4.44 billion rupees ($88 million) in the three months to December from a loss of 2.54 billion rupees a year earlier. Its debt totals at least $1.3 billion.
A consortium of banks led by state-run State Bank of India was expected to meet next week to discuss whether to extend fresh loans to Kingfisher, based on a new feasibility report, domestic media said.
The banks already own about a quarter of Kingfisher through an earlier debt-for-equity swap, and bankers have said they would like to see the airline get cash injections from other investors before they put in more money.
Mallya has said closing Kingfisher "is not an option".
India's cabinet is next month expected to approve allowing foreign airlines to take up to a 49 percent stake in domestic carriers.
Analysts have mentioned IAG, parent company of British Airways, and EtihadAirways, flagship carrier of the United Arab Emirates, as firm that might be interested in a Kingfisher stake.

Kenya Airways plans Mideast expansion!

Kenya Airways is planning to boost its schedule to Dubai and is planning further routes as part of its expansion across the Middle East, the African carrier's regional manager has confirmed.
"The growth potential is very strong and I believe that Kenya Airways has an exciting year ahead in this region, as our Dubai service will become double daily and more frequency will be added to the Jeddah service as well," the airline's regional manager Abraham Joseph told Arabian Business' sister title Aviation Business.
"At the same time, opportunities are being explored in new markets across the Middle East… There are plans to commence a Beirut service by the middle of 2012, while flights to Karachi in Pakistan are also being considered, which will be served via Dubai," he added.
Last year, the African carrier announced a new ten-year growth plan and, as part of the strategy, its fleet will triple in size to 100 aircraft.
"Kenya Airways has placed an order for nine Boeing 787 Dreamliners, the delivery of which has unfortunately been delayed and will now start from late 2013 or early 2014. Kenya Airways has ordered two Boeing 777-300ERs, which will enter service in the middle of 2013. These will initially replace our Boeing 767-300ERs on the Dubai route, until the Dreamliner comes into operation," Joseph said.
Kenya Airways began operating from Dubai over 25 years ago and currently operates 10 flights a week to the emirate. In addition, it operates thrice a week to Muscat and twice a week to Jeddah.
"The latest economic data has indicated that Africa in the next international growth area, due to the new found wealth of many countries in terms of natural oil and gas, minerals and precious metals. Nairobi has emerged as the hub of Africa and we are determined to cover all major cities in the continent over the next two years," Joseph said.

Emirates introduces Airbus A340 on Accra-Dubai route

Mr Manoj Nair, Emirates Regional Manager for West Africa, has said the airline has introduced an Airbus A340-500 to its Accra –Dubai route to underline the airline’s commitment to Ghana.

He said the aircraft update which was effective February 13, 2012 would “offer travelers from West African markets seamless connections to the Far East, Middle East, Indian subcontinent and Australia, via Emirates Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport”.

Mr Nair, in a statement released in Accra on Monday, said the demand for Emirate’s flights to Accra had been steadily rising and that the introduction of the A340-500 would give customers an even better experience when they traveled on the Accra-Dubai route.

He said “our customers will now enjoy the very latest Emirates in-flight products, including our multi award-winning ice entertainment system. Additionally, First Class passengers will experience Emirates’ ergonomically-designed private First Class suites, featuring privacy screens for maximum exclusivity and massage-enabled seats which convert into flat beds. Our Business Class customers will experience angled lie-flat beds and those traveling in Economy Class will enjoy the comfort of generously-sized seats”.

The statement said Emirates, one of the world’s fastest-growing international airlines, serves Accra daily, with an A340-500 aircraft offering 12 First Class Private Suites, 42 seats in Business Class and 204 Economy Class seats and employs more than 130 Ghanaian nationals in a variety of roles across the Emirates Group, including 75 cabin crew.

It said the aircraft also has a total of 13 tonnes of cargo-carrying capacity. EK 788 departs Accra at 1845hrs and lands in Dubai at 0630hrs. EK787 leaves Dubai at 0740hrs and arrives in Accra at 1240hrs.

It said customers in all cabins can enjoy Emirates’ professionally selected wines, spirits and beverages, as well as fresh, locally-sourced dining options prepared by gourmet chefs and served by the airline’s multi-national cabin crew. Passengers can also lose themselves in more than 600 channels of on-demand entertainment, including 50 new movie releases, more than 20 movie classics and 20 children’s films.

Emirates has already launched new routes to Rio, Buenos Aires, Dublin, Lusaka, Harare and Dallas in 2012 would follow with Seattle on March 1, Ho Chi Minh City on June 4, and Barcelona on July 3, 2012.

SAA will launch an additional flight between Johannesburg and new African destination

South African Airways (SAA) has announced significant schedule and route enhancements to its African network, including: added frequencies to several destinations, new or upgraded aircraft on certain routes, and product developments that will further enhance the flight experience for SAA's valued customers.

From 25 February 2012, SAA will launch an additional flight between Johannesburg and the following cities: Lusaka (Zambia) on Wednesdays and Sundays; Kinshasa (DRC) on Mondays through Saturdays; and Accra (Ghana) daily except Wednesdays.

"These additions are part of SAA's strategy to optimize its schedule throughout the African continent, resulting in expanded services and more convenient schedules and connections for our customers," said Theunis Potgieter, General Manager of Commercial for SAA.

SAA will take delivery of 22 new, state-of-the-art narrow body Airbus A320 aircraft as part of its fleet renewal process. "We are also in the process of optimizing flight departure times and adding our brand new Airbus A320 aircraft on key domestic routes, whilst also scheduling wide body aircraft on other heavily-traveled markets. These changes and enhancements will further solidify SAA's position as the leading and most awarded airline in Africa," added Potgieter.

Effective 24 February 2012, the first of the new A320s will service specific flights between Johannesburg and Durban, with the second aircraft also used on the route from 18 March. The more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly A320 aircraft are more economical to operate.

These changes will result in improved schedules for regional flights. The departure and arrival times for flights between Johannesburg and Mauritius (from 1 March 2012), Nairobi (from 18 March 2012) and Accra (from 25 March 2012) will be adjusted, resulting in more convenient connection opportunities to and from SAA's international flights. Effective 18 March 2012, flight times for SA028 and SA029 between Johannesburg and Harare will be optimized. SA028 and SA029 will also be upgraded to wide body A330 aircraft on Fridays, accounting for the typically higher demand on that day.

Aircraft upgrades will also be implemented on certain flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town as of 18 March, with the Airbus A330 operating several of the daily frequencies.

In line with SAA's growth strategy, the airline recently introduced new flights to Kigali (Rwanda) from Johannesbug, Bujumbura (Burundi), and Beijing (China).

Ethiopian Airlines was awarded the Gold Award for African Airline of the Year 2011/2012

Ethiopian Airlines was awarded the Gold Award for African Airline of the Year 2011/2012 from the African Aviation News portal. Ethiopian Airlines earned this distinguished honor by receiving the highest number of votes from readers, industry officials, and followers of African Aviation. More than 20,000 total votes were registered in this year’s poll, both online and in various industry meetings and airline congress events.

“We at Ethiopian Airlines are delighted and honored to receive such recognition for the work we do,” said Kagnew Asfaw, Ethiopian Airlines’ Director for the Americas. “Our non-stop Boeing 777LR from Washington Dulles has allowed us to offer improved service to all of Africa, and our recent membership in the Star Alliance will allow us to continue service innovation in the field.”

In the past 65 years, Ethiopian Airlines has become one of Africa’s most reputable airlines, and is unparalleled in the continent for its successful operations in industry service with maximum efficiency. The airline is at the forefront of modern technology, maintaining state-of-the-art fleets and providing excellent services to the pan-African network, as well as to 62 international destinations. In addition, Ethiopian Airlines continues to operate with the conscientious priority of making their Ethiopian Aviation Academy the best flying school in Africa.

Receiving the Gold Award from the African Aviation News portal is a welcome addition to the multitude of distinguished recognitions already bestowed upon the airline by various organizations throughout the industry, the latest of which was the “Airline of the Year Award” presented at the 43rd African Airlines Associations (AFRAA) Annual General Assembly in November 2011.

Turkish Airlines Jan passenger numbers up 21.9 pct

Turkey's flag-carrier Turkish Airlines' said on Monday that passenger numbers in January rose 21.9 percent to 2.6 million from 2.1 million a year ago.

Load factor in the same period was 72.1 percent, up 4.9 percentage points from January 2011, Turkish Airlines said in a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

Shares in Turkish Airlines were up 3.41 percent to 2.73 lira, outperforming the Istanbul bourse which traded 1.22 percent higher at 0927 GMT.

Singapore Airlines says EU emissions scheme unfair

Singapore Airlines Ltd. thinks that the European system of charging global airlines for emissions isn't equitable, though the island nation's flag carrier will comply with the law, Chief Executive Goh Choon Phong said Monday.

"We will comply (with the Emissions Trading System, or ETS) but we don't think it is an equitable measure," Goh told reporters on the sidelines of an industry event in Singapore.

He said it was unfair to charge an airline flying long distance into Europe for the entire journey made by the airplane. Under the system, an airline that makes its passengers fly with a halt somewhere close to Europe will pay less than an airline that flies non-stop, even though the former would have used more fuel, he said.

"We are objecting to the principle of how it is applied," Goh said.

Separately, he said that the aviation market is expected to improve in the second half of 2012 while the airline isn't banking on fuel prices to come down anytime soon.